Lasith Malinga lands in trouble after comparing Sri Lankan minister to monkey

New Delhi: Legendary fast bowler Lasith Malinga found himself in trouble after comparing Sri Lanka Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera to a monkey. The minister has reportedly ordered an inquiry.

The 33-year-old, who made a valiant attempt to revive his ODI career at the recently concluded ICC Champions Trophy in England, had lambasted the minister for questioning the endurance of Sri Lankan players following their failure to reach the knock-out stage in the tournament.

"He is now under investigation for making statements to the media in breach of his contract with Sri Lanka Cricket (board)," Jayasekera told AFP.

"In my criticism of the appalling fitness levels of our players, I did not name Malinga, but he has chosen to put the hat on and attack me publicly."

Upon team's return from England last week, the minister reportedly ordered a fitness test and claimed to have found that most of them carry too much fat.

"The typical body fat amounts for a cricketer should be about 16 percent, but most of our players have over 25 percent.

"I want the results analysed and in future no one will be included in a national squad if they are above 16 percent," Jayasekera had said.

Taking strong exception, Malinga told a television network the minister knew nothing about cricket.

"I don't care about criticism from those who are simply warming chairs," he said. "What does a monkey know about a parrot's nesting hollow? This is like a monkey getting into a parrot's nest and talking about it."

Malinga was out of national team reckoning for about 18 months because of injury, but he prominently figured in the Mumbai Indian's Indian Premier League 2017 title-winning campaign.

(With AFP inputs)